Even the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has expressed concern about the deaths of women who took RU-486.Even Planned Parenthood.
"Even."
Right. What an offensive slur.
"Context." Quotes.
Putting the situation in "context," Planned Parenthood also noted that since RU-486 was approved by the FDA in September 2000, 560,000 medication abortions have taken place in the U.S., and seven women who were taking the drug died.
Right.
Never mind that RU-486 facilitated pregnancy prevention is much safer than illegal abortion (about one death in 3000). There's no mention, naturally enough, of the fact that childbirth is much more dangerous than RU-486 (about one death in 15,000 in the west).
"Holly's Law" (a much more effective framing than "RU-486 Suspension and Review Act") isn't about women's safety. It's about ending reproductive rights.
The RU-486 Suspension and Review Act is another special purpose law for the religious right, just like the Terri Shiavo bill that religious conservatives passed, President Bush interrupted a vacation and rushed to Washington to sign, but which was struck down and then turned away by the Supreme Court.
These people will never stop. Some of them can't because they think they have a lock on Truth. Others won't stop because of the demagogic value of the issue and other like it.
A prince must take great care [to always] appear to all who see and hear him to be completely pious, completely faithful, completely honest, completely humane, and completely religious. And nothing is more important than to appear to have that last quality. - Niccolo Machiavelli (my emphasis)
1 comment:
So if we get rid of RU486, where does that leave us. Half a million unwanted children and 28 additional dead women? More likely, almost half a million surgical abortions and even more dead women. If the pro-lifers get their way, it will be somewhat fewer abortions, somewhat more unwanted children, and a lot of dead women from illegal abortions.
We know from the War on Drugs that mass moral action cannot be dictated by law. The right way to approach this is public education and support for mothers. The best way to reduce abortions is to reduce unwanted pregnancies. We can reduce unwanted pregnancies by making the lives of young women better, by educating them better, by raising the minimum wage, by making it easier for young men to get decent jobs (by restricting illegal immigration and other measures). Sex education and access to plan-B contraceptives wouldn't hurt. These ideas, of course, cannot take root in the rocky soil of religious extremism.
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